Striker and carrier for railway couplers



July 7, 1959 c. 'D. MCCLURG STRIKER AND CARRIER FOR RAILWAY COUPLERS Filed March 26. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR a??? oJv czJ/Ae,

ATTORNEY July 7, 1959 c. D. MCCLURG STRIKER AND CARRIER FOR RAILWAY COUPLERS F iled March 26. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR R4 0. M az/m,

ATTORNEY United States Patent U CARRIER FOR RAILWAY COUPLERS Carl D. McClurg, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The Buckeye Steel Castings Company, Columbus, Ohio STRIKERAND The present invention relates to support means for railway couplers and pertains to improvements in the bearing engagement of a carrier assembly on the striker whereby the entire carrier unit may move laterally relative to the fixed portions of a draft rigging.

An object of the invention is to provide rotatable members between means providing support for the stem of a railway coupler and the striker so that the carrier means for the coupler will be supported by the rotatable members during lateral shifting of the coupler to minimize wear of the carrier parts in service.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for producing a limited lifting of the carrier unit'when it is displaced generally horizontally from a central orneutral position whereby the load imposed on the carrier assembly by the coupler and its stem tends to return the carrier unit to the central or neutral position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a spring supported carrier iron with means for holding it in assembled relationship with aspring abutment member so that the springs and the carrier iron and the abutment member may be assembled as a unit and thereafter mounted within a pocket at a forward lower portion of the striker without the necessity of employing auxiliary retaining devices. I I

Other objects and features of the invention will' be more apparent to those skilled in the art as the present disclosure proceeds and upon consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description wherein an exemplary. embodiment of the invention is disclosed. p p

In. the. drawings:

l is a front elevational view of a striker and coupler. carrier assembly embodying the invention with a portionof the striker broken away to illustrate novel features of the assembly.

. Fig, 2 isa sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l with portions of the carrier springs omitted.

Fig. ,3 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 33 of Fig. l

Fig. 4 is a sectional View of a lower forward portion of the striker casting with elements of the carrier assembly removed; a

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the carrier member or iron. Fig. 6 is an end view of the carrier member. Fig. 'Zis aplan view of the spring abutment member. Fig. Sis an inverted plan view of the member shown in Fig. 7. p j

Fig. 9 is an end view of the spring abutment member.

Fig. -10 is a front elevational view of the assembled carrier unit. a r i Fig. 11 is an end view of the unit shown in Fig. 10 with the carrier. springs omitted.

The coupler carrier has particular utility for resiliently supporting the stem of an interlocking type coupler or thestriker of a draft rigging so that the coupler draw bar may angle vertically and horizontally. The striker cast- 2,893,572 Patented July 7, 1959 Ice ing is shown at 16 and is provided with draft lugs 17. The striker casting is provided with a front opening 18 through which the stem 19 of a coupler is adapted to extend. The transverse dimensions of the coupler stem are outlined in phantom lines in Fig. 1 and the coupler shank is adapted to rest on and be supported by a carrier member or iron 21. The carrier iron 21 is resiliently supported with respect ot the striker as hereinafter described and the coupler stem 19 is adapted to angle horizontally within the confines of the opening 18 and at the same time is resiliently supported by the carrier member 21 throughout such horizontal movements. The coupler stem 19 is also adapted to angle vertically and is supported by the carrier member during such movements.

The striker casting 16 except for the front and lower portions may be of a conventional construction which includes webs forming side walls 22 and 23 joined by a top wall 24. The front drag lugs 17 are integral with a rear portion of the side wall structure and the draft lugs may also be of a conventional design and construction. The striker is provided with holes 26 in the side walls for securing the striker to the vertical portions of the sill structure (not shown). The top of the striker casting may be attached in a conventional manner to the top portion of the body sills.

A trough structure is provided at a front and lower portion of the striker 16 which includes a front wall 27 and a rear wall 28. The upper edge of the front wall 27 is in the same horizontal plane as the top edge of the rear wall 28. The lower centralportion of the trough structure is closed by means of a plate or bottom wall 31 while the side portions of the trough structure are open as indicated at 32. In the vicinity of the top of the pocket webs 34 join the front and the rear walls 27 and 28 of the trough structure. The open areas 32 permit the escape of water and debris such as cinders or the like. Open areas 33 are provided at the sides of the striker above the webs 34. The front wall 27 is provided with relatively large weight reducing openings 36.

The upper surface of the plate or bottom wall 31 is provided with a plurality of concave surfaces 37 and in the embodiment illustrated three of such arcuate recesses are provided for receiving rollers 38. The curvature of the concave surface 37 is generated about horizontal axes each having a materially larger radius than that of a roller 38 as will be apparent from a consideration of Fig. 1. A slot 39 is provided in the front wall 27 adjacent the forward end of each roller 38 and a similar .slot 41 is provided in the rear 'wall 28 of the trough structure adjacent the rear end of each roller 38. These slots permit water and the like to escape from the trough and also provide for inspection of the rollers 38. The slots 39 and 41 are of limited size to prevent endwise escape of the rollers 38. A pair of spaced lugs 42 extend upwardly from the \bottom wall 31 at each side of the trough structure and one set of these lugs is shown in Fig. 4. The purpose of the lugs 42 will be more apparent as the disclosure proceeds. i

The carrier iron 21 includes a top plate 43 having a plane upper surface. A log 44 extends upwardly from each end of the plate 43. These lugs 44 are adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of the coupler stem 19 and it will be observed from a consideration of Fig. 1 that the transverse space between the lugs 44 is only slightly \greater than the horizontal dimensions of the coupler stem. Accordingly any horizontal angling of the coupler will cause the carrier iron to move transversely of the .a normal position asshown in Fig. l.-"

The carrier member 21 is provided with a dependent front wall 46 as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. End walls 47 extend downwardly from the top plate 43 and join opposite ends of the front wall 46. A vertical rib 48 is formed along the outside of each end wall 47 and extends to the lower end of each end wall. Each rib 48 is arranged along the rear edge of the associated end wall 47. A hook 51 having a plane surface 52 is formed integral with a lower end of each rib 48. The surface 52 slopes and is inclined downwardly and rearward from the nose of the book. A generally rectangular shaped opening 53 is provided in each end wall 47 adjacent the surface 52 so as to facilitate cleaning of these surfaces during manufacture of the casting.

A depending rib -4 extends transversely along a rear edge of the plate '43 of the carrier iron and an under surface of the rib is inclined slightly as will be apparent from a consideration of Fig. 2. This rib is for the purpose of engaging the top edge of the rear wall 28 of the trough structure at the same time that the forward portion of the top plate 43 engages the top edge of the front wall 27. Such a structural arrangement provides for the support of the carrier iron 21 on both walls of the trough during extreme drooping of the coupler stem. A plurality of spring positioning lugs 56 extend downwardly from an under surface of the plate 43.

The carried unit includes a spring abutment member 58 which is so constructed as to be mounted in the lower portion of the trough of the striker casting and this member is more clearly shown in Figs. 7 to 9. The spring abutment member 58 includes a bottom plate 61 carrying a plurality of upwardly projecting spring positioning lugs 62. The spring abutment member is provided with a pair of upstanding end walls 63. On the inner surface.

of each end wall 63 along a front edge thereof a vertical rib 64 is provided. Each of the ribs 64 terminates at its upper end in a hook 66 having a plane downwardly facing surface 67 (Fig. 9) which is inclined upwardly and forwardly of the carrier assembly. An opening 68 is provided in each end wall 63 adjacent the inclined surface 67 of the hook to facilitate cleaning of this surface during the manufacture of the casting.

Along its front edge the plate 61 is provided with a vertical upstanding rib 69 which extends thereacross and joins the end walls 63. Each end wall 63 and the hook portion 66 is provided with a forwardly facing surface 71 substantially in vertical alignment with the outer surface of the rib 69. The surfaces 71 and the forward face of the rib 69 all serve in cooperation with the inner surface of the front wall 27 of the striker trough to guide the spring abutment member during lateral movements thereof with respect to the striker. The rear edge of the plate 61 and the rear edges of the end walls 63 serve in cooperation with the inner face of the rear wall 28 to further guide the spring abutment member within the trough of the striker.

The under surface of the plate 61 is formed with a series of spaced concave surfaces 72 as shown in Figs. 1, 8 and 10. The concave surfaces 72 are adapted to normally overlie the similarly spaced concave surface 37. The rollers 38 are of such diameters as to support the spring abutment member 58 so as to clear the bottom wall of the trough and these rollers serve to support the spring abutment in a manner as illustrated in Fig. l. The rollers permit the spring abutment member 58 to move laterally with respect to the striker casting. At each end of the plate 61 of the spring abutment member a centrally located lug 74 is provided which in the assembled position is located between the spaced lugs 42 on the bottom wall of the striker pocket. The lugs 74 cooperate with the lugs 42 to position the spring abutment member 58 in a proper position within the trough of the striker and also serve to prevent displacement of the rollers 38 in case of an extreme uplift of one end of the spring abutment member relative to the striker.

A plurality of springs 76 support the carrier iron 21 on the spring abutment member 58 and thus resiliently support the coupler stem 19 -on the striker 16. One of the advantages of the unique structure of the carrier iron 21 and the spring abutment member 58 is that the carrier parts may be assembled to provide a unit before it is mounted in the trough of the striker and without the use of any auxiliary retaining device such as rivets, bolts or the like. The spring 76 are first placed in position with their lower ends over the spring positioning lugs 62 of the spring abutment member 58. The carrier iron 21 is then moved into a position over the upper ends of the springs 76. The side walls 47 of the carrier member 'are then located in positions inside the side walls 63 of the spring abutment member 58. A force may then be applied to one or both of the members to compress the springs 76 and to bring about relative movement of the two members toward each other. The hook shaped portions 51 on the carrier member 21 and the hook shaped ends 66 on the spring abutment member slide by each other on the inclined surfaces 77 and 78 and the surfaces 52 and 67 are brought into position facing each other with the surfaces 52 below the surfaces 67. The force employed to compress the springs 76 is then released and the surfaces 52 and 67 engage each other to maintain the elements as an assembled unit with a predetermined compression of the springs 76.

The rollers 38 are arranged in position on the concave surfaces 37. The carrier unit maintained in assembled relationship by means of the hooks 51 and 66 may then be mounted in the trough of the striker 16 with the concave surfaces 72 of the spring abutment member 58 in positions over the rollers 38. The carrier member 21 with its top plate 43 then assumes the position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The carrier unit may be maintained in position within the trough by means of a bolt 81 which extends through an opening 82 in the front wall 27 of the striker trough. A nut 84 is applied to the inner end of the bolt 81 which is of such dimension as to form a stop or an abutment adapted to be engaged by the top edge of the rib 69. A shoulder 86 is formed integral with the front wall 27 above the opening 82 which serves the purpose of preventing rotation of the nut 84 during application to the bolt 81 and also functions to transmit any force from the nut to the front wall of the striker casting. The nut 84 in cooperation with the shoulder 86 provides means forming an abutment which may be engaged by the top edge of the rib 69 to restrict upward movement of the spring abutment member in service and thus prevent displacement of the rollers 38.

The assembly as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is such that horizontal angling movements of the coupler stem 19 will shift the carrier member 21 including the spring abutment member 58 and the springs 76 laterally with respect to the striker. Such lateral movements of the spring abutment member 58 takes place while the unit is supported on the rollers 38. Rolling movement of the rollers 38 on the concave surfaces produces a slight lifting of the carrier unit when it is displaced from its normal or central position. The carrier is thus self-centering since the load imposed on the carrier iron and transmitted to the spring abutment member 58 through the spring 76 tends to cause the rollers 38 to return to the lowermost positions on the concave surfaces. The interengagement of the end walls 47 of the carrier member 21 with the end walls 63 of the spring abutment member provides an arrangement wherein the spring abutment member 58 is forced to move laterally with such movements of the carrier member 21.

While the invention has been described with regard to specific structural features of various elements and with regard to a specific organization it will be appreciated and others may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

'1. A draw bar support for a draft rigging comprising, a striker, a trough structure carried by a lower forward portion of the striker having generally vertical front and rear walls, a bottom wall joining said front and rear walls, a series of concave surfaces on an upper face of said' bottom wall, a rollable member on each of said concave surfaces, a carrier member, upstanding lugs carried by the carrier member adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of a coupler stem, a spring abutment member having a series of downwardly facing concave surfaces resting respectively on said rollable members, springs between said spring abutment member and said carrier member, and interengaging means carried by the carrier member and the spring abutment member for moving the spring abutment member laterally during lateral shifting of the carrier member.

2. In a support for a railway coupler, a striker, a trough structure carried by a lower forward portion of the striker having generally vertical front and rear walls and a generally horizontal bottom wall, a plurality of upward facing concave surfaces on said bottom wall, a roller on each of said concave surfaces, a carrier iron, upstanding lugs carried by said carrier iron adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of a coupler stem, a spring abutment member having a plurality of downwardly facing concave surfaces resting respectively on said rollers, springs between said spring abutment member and said carrier iron, means extending from the carrier iron towards the spring abutment member, and means extending from the spring abutment member towards the carrier iron overlapping the first means to positively move the spring abutment member laterally with such movements of the carrier iron.

3. A draw bar support for a draft rigging comprising, a striker, a trough structure at a forward and lower portion of the striker having a generally vertical front wall and a generally vertical rear wall, a bottom wall joining said front and rear walls having a series of concave surfaces in an upper face thereof, a rollable member on each of said concave surfaces, a spring abutment member between the front and rear walls having a series of downwardly facing concave surfaces thereon each resting on one of said rollable members, a carrier iron, upstanding lugs carried by the carrier iron adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of the draw bar, a plurality of springs interposed between an under surface of the carrier iron and an upper face of said carrier member, end walls extending from the spring abutment member, and end walls extending from the carrier iron for engaging the first end walls to move the spring abutment member laterally with such movements of the carrier iron.

4. A draw bar support for a draft rigging comprising, a striker, a trough structure at a forward and lower portion of the striker having generally vertical front and rear walls, a bottom wall joining said front and rear walls having a series of concave surfaces in an upper face thereof, a roller resting on each of said concave surfaces, a spring abutment member having a series of downwardly facing concave surfaces thereon respectively engaging one of said rollers, a carrier iron, upstanding lugs carried by the carrier iron adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of the draw bar, a plurality of springs between the carrier iron and said abutment member, hook means limiting movement of carrier iron away from the abutment member, and means carried by the trough adapted to be engaged by and limiting upward movement of the abutment member.

5. A carrier unit for supporting the stem of a railway coupler comprising, a carrier member including a plate, end walls depending from said plate, a rib extending downwardly along an outer surface of each end wall terminating in a hook at the lower end thereof, a spring abutment member including a bottom plate, a wall extending upwardly from each end of the bottom plate, a rib extending upwardly along the inner surface of each of the last-mentioned end walls terminating at its upper end in a hook respectively engaging the first hooks, and

springs compressed between said plate and said bottom plate.

6. A spring abutment member for the carrier of a railway car coupling comprising, a plate having a plane upper face, spring positioning lugs projecting upwardly from said face, a transverse Wall extending upwardly from each end of said plate, a rib extending vertically along an inner surface of each end wall, a hook carried by each end wall at an upper end of each rib with an end thereof extending in the plane of the associated end wall, and said plate having a series of concave surfaces on the lower surface thereof.

7. In a draw bar support for a railway draft rigging, a striker, a trough structure carried by a lower forward portion of the striker having generally vertical front and rear walls, a bottom wall joining said front and rear walls, a plurality of upwardly facing concave surfaces on said bottom wall, a rollable member on each of said concave surfaces, a spring abutment member having a plurality of downwardly facing concave surfaces each engaging one of said rollable members, a carrier member, a plurality of springs between said spring abutment member and said carrier member, interengaging means carried by the spring abutment member and the carrier member for moving the spring abutment member laterally during lateral movements of the carrier member, means limiting movement of the carrier member away from the'spring abutment member, and means limiting movement of the spring abutment member away from the bottom wall.

8. In a support for a railway coupler, a striker, a trough structure carried by a lower forward portion of the striker including a bottom wall therefor, a plurality of upwardly facing concave surfaces on the bottom wall, a rollable member on each of said concave surfaces, an upwardly extending lug carried by opposite ends of the bottom wall, a spring abutment member having a plurality of downwardly facing concave surfaces each engaging one of said rollable members, a lug at each end of the spring abutment member extending downwardly along a side of the first lug, a carrier member, a plurality of springs between the said spring abutment member and said carrier member, and interengaging means carried by the spring abutment member and the carrier member for moving the spring abutment member laterally during such shifting of the carrier member.

9. A striker for a draft appliance, a trough structure carried by a lower forward portion of the striker having generally vertical front and rear walls and a bottom wall, a plurality of upward facing concave surfaces on said bottom wall extending between the front and rear walls, said front and rear walls having slots therein with lower edges thereof in horizontal alignment with bottom contours of said concave surfaces, means carried by said front wall projecting rearwardly therefrom at a central portion of the trough structure, and said means presenting a downwardly facing abutment surface spaced above said bottom wall.

10.v A carrier unit for a draft rigging comprising, a spring abutment member, a carrier member, a plurality of springs compressed between the carrier member and the spring abutment member, means preventing shifting of said springs relative to said members, end walls extending from said spring abutment member, a downward facing hook on an inside surface of each of said end walls, end walls extending from the carrier member overlapping the first end walls, and an upwardly facing hook on the outside surface of each of the last end walls engaging the first hook limiting expansion of said springs and holding the carrier member and the spring abutment member with the springs compressed therebetween as an assembled unit.

11. In a support for a railway coupler, a striker, a trough structure carried by a lower forward portion of the striker having a bottom wall, a plurality of upwardly facing concave surfaces on said bottom wall, a roller engaging each of said concave surfaces, a carrier iron, upstanding lugs carried by said carrier iron adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of a coupler stem, a spring abutment member within said trough structure having a plurality of downwardly facing concave surfaces each engaging one of said rollers, springs between said spring abutment member and said carrier iron, vertical disposed means on the carrier iron and vertically disposed means on the spring abutment member overlapping each other in a plane transversely of said trough structure for moving the spring abutment member laterally with such movements of the carrier iron.

12. A draw bar support for a draft rigging comprising, a trough structure integral with the striker at a forward lower portion thereof having generally vertically front and rear walls, a bottom wall joining said front and rear walls having a series of concave surfaces in the upper face thereof, a roller engaging each of said concave surfaces with ends of the rollers in abutting relationship with said front and rear walls, a spring abutment member having a series of downwardly facing concave surfaces thereon each of which rests on one of said rollers, a carrier iron, upstanding lugs carried by the carrier iron adapted to be engaged by opposite sides of the draw bar, springs between an under surface of the carrier iron and an upper face of said spring abutment member, means carried by the carrier iron and the spring abutment member limiting upward movement of the carrier iron with respect to the spring abutment member in response to action of said 8 springs, and means on said front wall within said trough structure in position to be engaged by said spring abutment member limiting upward movement of the spring abutment member.

13. A carrier member for a railway coupler comprising, a plate having a plane upper face, spring positioning lugs projecting downwardly from said plate, a transverse wall extending downwardly from each end of said plate, a rib extending downwardly from said plate along an exterior surface of each end wall with each rib terminating at its lower end in an upwardly facing hook with the free end of the hook extending in the plane of the associated end Wall, and an upstanding lug at each end of said plate.

14. A spring abutment member for the carrier assembly for a railway coupler comprising, a plate having a plane upper face, spring positioning lugs projecting upwardly from said face, a plurality of downwardly facing concave surfaces on a lower portion of said plate, a lug extending downwardly from each end of the plate providing abutments at extremities of said concave surfaces, and each of said last-mentioned lugs being of less width than said plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,604,336 Bender Oct. 26, 1926 1,878,032 Van Dorn Sept. 20, 1932 1,886,417 Muchnic Nov. 8, 1932 2,058,269 Strid Oct. 20, 1936 2,441,626 Gilpin May 18, 1948 2,513,834 Ziedler July 4, 1950 2,604,215 Kayler July 22, 1952 

